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20150628

Drawing inspiration from an unlikely source — trailer homes — the Ten Broeck Cottage by Messana O’Rorke is a stunning redo of an Eighteenth Century homestead. The house was in serious disrepair when the project began, and while the wide board flooring, hand-hewn timbers of the frame, and wattle and daub wall in the basement are nearly all that remain, the new look of the original cottage pays homage to its simple origins, while the bright red addition is unabashedly modern. And unlike many other architectural gems, it’s available for rent.

20150626

Take a look at these seven trailers and houseboats, each a modern testament to small space living and active lifestyles.

Above: Part tent, part RV, the NASA-inspired Cricket Trailer is the go-to camper for modern road trippers. Combining his small-space expertise and backpacking background, architect Garrett Finney designed the Cricket Trailer, a small, self-contained pop-up camper. It’s his response to bigger-is-better RV cul­ture: “It’s not a house on wheels but a portable adventure living space,” he says.Photo by Sarah Wilson

In Berlin, Germany, brothers Chris and Oliver Laugsch bought a one-of-a-kind house boat for their vacation rental company, Welcome Beyond. Initially built as a home by a Dutch designer, the Modern House Boat is a three-room, 645-square-foot floating hotel. Instead of crisp sheets and room service, they offer a stellar city view and blissful peace and quiet.Courtesy of Welcome Beyond

The jaunty boat-like shell of the Hütte Hut began with a case study undertaken by Brian and Katrina Manzo, the husband-and-wife team behind Sprouting Sprocket Studio. Keeping molded components to a minimum, the pair first designed a lightweight frame and then enclosed the structure with taut fabric and sheets of Jobert Okume marine plywood. The result is a teardrop-shaped caravan that can be towed behind a vehicle or parked in a backyard.Courtesy of Skye Moorhead and David Johnston

Designer Alejandro Capdevila of Isola System built this approximately 800-square-foot floating house in Wrocław, Poland. “Generally floating houses are very expensive, and very ugly,” Capdevila says. “I wanted to build a floating house that was affordable, easy to build, secure, and very well designed.”Courtesy of Alejandro Capdevila

In Canada’s Yukon Territory, a college instructor built a lightweight, efficient 97-square-foot mobile dwelling. The Leaf House is mobile trailer that was carefully engineered to weigh less than 5,000 pounds. The designer, Laird Herbert, used a metal-mesh, open-joint rainscreen as the cladding on the front end, and spruce pine at the back.Courtesy of Leaf House

A C-Frame catamaran, Port X is a buoyant dwelling for modular, modern living. Prague’s Atelier SAD finished the concept last fall, collaborating with a company that develops sailing boats to fabricate its curved exterior. With a cost of roughly 55,000 euros per unit, the Port X home can be wired to survive off the grid.Courtesy of Tomáš Souček

Offering herbal workshops, and playing host to the Trans-Pecos festival, El Cosmico is a hotel that’s engaged with the community. Guests stay close to the land, experiencing it in teepees, yurts, tents or trailers, like the one pictured here. By reducing the bedroom to its essentials and filling it with windows, the El Cosmico staff has made this small space as expansive as the desert beyond.Photo by Nick Simonitevia Dwell

20150619

This project originated in our client’s wish to experiment with shipping containers. She lives in a small warehouse on a former industrial site just south of downtown. The finished project serves as a guest house and is fitted with a shower/WC and a custom stainless sink.

The large steel and glass lift/slide and end window wall open the interior to the surrounding landscape. The remainder of the interior is used as a garden shed.The emphasis was on sustainable strategies– first, the recycling of a “one-way” container for a new and permanent use.

The planted roof is held off the container top, providing shade and air-flow to reduce heat gain. The interior is insulated with spray foam then lined with bamboo plywood, equally appropriate for the floor as the walls. The grey water from the sink and shower is captured for roof irrigation.

The WC is a composting toilet. The rear of the container is screened by wire mesh panels which will eventually be covered in evergreen vines. Other innovative material choices informed the design: the container “floats” on a foundation of recycled telephone poles.

The deck is made up of HVAC equipment pads (made of recycled soda bottles) set in a steel frame. The exterior light fixtures are blades from a tractor disc plow—a common sight in south Texas.

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The Floating House is designed by award winning Costa Rican designer Benjamin Garcia Saxe and overlooks stunning views of nature. Built atop the Costa Rican jungle, the space is constructed of three pods that can house seven, with walkways and bridges connecting the spaces. Comprised of natural teak wood flooring, solar water heating and UV water filtration systems, the space is sustainable and beautiful. With an infinity pool and stunning views of the nearby ocean, the beach is also just a walk away. Designed to be a holiday home, the space is inexplicably tied to the outdoors with an emphasis on open space and natural lighting. Check out some photos above, and head over to The Modern Houseto see more.

About Me

Formerly, partner in a bi-coastal event marketing agency and Publisher of BULLETT Magazine.
Currently, lead dreamer at Big APPl Labs.
I feel these endeavors have shaped my style immensely.
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